


we'll live and dream together

by sekhmettt



Series: to make our own way forward [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: (it's a sloppy one shot i ain't going through the effort), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s04e02 The Lion and the Rose, F/F, Female Friendship, Gen, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26262517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sekhmettt/pseuds/sekhmettt
Summary: So be it, if Tyrion wanted her gone that badly, Shae would comply. Yet, if the littlest lion truly wished to spurn his lover, he would lose his wife too.
Relationships: (mentioned) - Relationship, Joffrey Baratheon/Margaery Tyrell, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Shae & Sansa Stark, Tyrion Lannister/Shae
Series: to make our own way forward [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926961
Comments: 8
Kudos: 62





	we'll live and dream together

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place just after [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu0arJCx2MA) if you need a reminder and spirals wildly out of control after that point. 
> 
> My tumblr is [here](https://sekhmettt621.tumblr.com/)! Oh and please, if you have the money to spare, buy me a [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/sekhmettt) in this trying time. God knows I need it. If you do and have a fic request, let me know and I’ll definitely give it my best shot. <3

Shae did not want his gold, did not want his ship, did not want Pentos, did not want the awkward walk to them both beside his sellsword. She wanted _him_ , but he would not let it be so, and truly, with the anger coursing through her veins and the pain clenching her heart, she could not say if she even wanted him anymore. There was nothing redeemable about this place. This awful place where families tore each other apart, where families tore one another apart, where the greediest men were the most rewarded.

Part of her wished to stay, wished to spite him, seek out other men and spurn him by letting them have their way with her. Yet that would do nothing but prove him _right_ , nothing but show she was the whore he claimed her to be. So, she would take his gold and his ship. And perhaps she’d even take Pentos, if it caught her fancy. And she would never sleep with another man again, unless she wished it to be so.

There was still a way to spite the littlest lion: his _wife_ , who was a lady, highborn, noble, and true, who was fit to bear his children and carry his family name. Sansa did not want him. She would never want a dwarf, young and vain as she still was, but she would never want a Lannister, even if she were the most handsome man in the world. Truthfully, that is the reason Shae turned from her course, making her way to Lady Sansa’s room, rather than the docks. _Spite._ If the littlest lion wished to spurn his lover, he would lose his wife too.

Yet, upon arrival to Sansa’s rooms, Shae stood in the doorway, simply watching the lady’s other maids flit around, giggling and chattering about the King’s wedding, happening in just a few hours. It had always astounded her, that none of them could seem to notice how uncomfortable the redhead appeared whenever they asked _Lady Lannister_ what she desired or whether _Lady Lannister_ had need of them. Did they not see how she cringed at the title? Did they have no empathy, no sympathy, no pity even for the poor girl? But no, if anything, they had always seem to delight in the reaction, pushing further and further to remind Sansa of her place.

She’d thought it before: There was nothing good, nothing redeemable about this place; and yet Sansa Stark was _good_ and had no need of redemption, for she was an innocent. Perhaps the only innocent in this stinking trash pile of a city.

Wiping away what remained of her tears, Shae straightened her spine and entered the room proper, ushering the tittering maids away with stern words and waving hands. Foreign and unknown though she may be, she was still the lady’s favoured handmaiden, and in charge because of it. Shutting the door behind them, she stood behind Sansa, resuming the process of brushing through her hair that she’d interrupted, noting the way the girl’s shoulders relaxed when she noticed they were alone.

Shae had told Sansa not to trust her, not to trust anyone in this city. And she stood by those words. She loved Sansa and would kill to protect her. The girl was sweet and kind and had a stronger spine than many believed of her. Yet, this place had a way of turning even those who loved you against you, a lesson she had learned the hard way, just moments ago. She didn’t want Sansa to trust her, for she never wanted to betray that trust, once given.

They were silent for a few long moments, excluding the soft rasp of the brush through auburn hair. At least until Shae asked, already knowing the answer, “Do you have any jewelry, my lady?” Sansa’s brow furrowed, obviously recognizing how pointless the question seemed.

“I do…” she answered, trailing off, expectantly waiting for an explanation. It doesn't come for another few seconds, though Shae doesn't wait until she asks for elaboration. 

“I am getting on a ship, as soon as I am finished here. I am sailing to Pentos.” An almost terrified little gasp escaped Sansa, about to lose one of her only allies in this awful place, and Shae knew that despite all her warnings, the girl had gone and trusted her. It only affirmed the decision she had already made. Quickly, before Sansa could speak, she continued, hand reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, catching those bright blue eyes in the mirror, voice dropping to a whisper, for the walls always had ears in this place, “I imagine some jewel adorned bracelets, some Lannister golden necklaces, and the like, may buy passage for another to join me.” And Shae, who was not made for implications and courtly games, continued rather bluntly, “The ship leaves before the wedding.” It had to. Tyrion would not want his _whore_ around to potentially cause chaos on the big day. “If we go now, we can be hours into the ocean by the time anyone notices you missing.”

And she waited. Watched the wide, shocked eyes of Sansa consider what this could mean, determine whether it was worth the risk. No one would blame her, least of all Shae, if she decided to stay. It was a terrifying thing, to scorn a family as powerful as the Lannisters, especially given all the beasts had done to her family already. And while Shae knew Sansa was far stronger than anyone gave her credit for, she also knew that she was just a girl.

Shae couldn’t know that Sansa was not debating whether or not to leave this wretched place, but whether to place her trust in Ser Dontos, her own drunken Florian, or to trust Shae, the mysterious foreign woman who had said to never trust her. It was truly a simply decision. Perhaps Ser Dontos would have come through for her and gotten her out of King’s Landing, but Ser Dontos had not let her cry into his shoulder when news of her brother and mother’s deaths arrived, had not forced her to eat and drink and survive even when she would have loved nothing more than to die with them, had not tried to flip her mattress and threaten a handmaiden to hide her moonblood, had not carried blades strapped to thighs and been ready to protect her from any foe even Lannisters. Ser Dontos was not _Shae_.

So, after only a few silent, tense moments, brave little Sansa Stark simply said, “I will need to change. And wear a darker cloak to hide my hair, at least until we are out of the harbor.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm imagining Tyrion had gold in Shae's cabin on the ship for her, so they'd be good there. Also, Shae is smart enough that she wouldn't stay in Pentos once they got there. They'd probably move to a different city. Maybe Lorath since that's where she's from. Maybe somewhere where Dany is, which could be interesting. Who knows. 
> 
> Honestly, the ramifications to everything that happened after this point if this happened would be CRAZY. So, if anyone wants to continue along the lines of this idea, by all means, let me know because I'd love to read it. I don't REALLY want to write it, but I might if the plot bunnies keep hitting, once I'm finished with my current wip.


End file.
